Wednesday, April 5, 2017

What's with the one-way street?

"It's just so amazing to be in the conversation with the French team.
We knew they'd bring it; they have an unsurpassed magic unique
to the ice dance experience; they're incredible, amazing,
we had our work cut out for us. We know we're basically
unworthy to stand higher on the podium than they stand. We know
we're forbidden to do more difficult things than the other teams, but we
are still allowed to do stuff BETTER than the other teams,
and so far it's worked, but today was a close call what with Scott's little glitch, because nobody is allowed to admit we're still bettereven if he'd glitched six or seven times. So it was awkward.No excuses, but Scott's eyes may have been temporarilyblinded by the dazzling aura lingering in the arenaafter the French free - I think their skin glitters more than Edward Cullen. The sound of their blades on the ice is mesmerizing, even though
it's better if blades are quiet, although who remembers that one,
it's just like when Davis White scampered over the ice without
touching it people said it was a good thing. Anyhow, I hope we
can hold on til next year, it's gonna be tough with the Frenchies.I hope you guys don't mind that we won.
It's all been worked out ahead of time, and if you knew what skatingskills look like, you'd know we deserve it with our skating, but we can't say that. Just have some French champagne and notice how it can't even
approximate the soulful effervescence of the French ice dancers."

Then:

"We just went out there and magicked it up. There is no secret,
it's just the intensity and the unshakeable unit of we-ness that starts to flow between Gabby and me. Although, technically speaking, the secret could
be the complete absence of upper body tension even when
our actual edges and the skating itself is pedestrian. Are we the first
ice dancers to figure that out? What took so long? Just let that hair
flow, keep the facial expression serenely ecstatic and the arms andback limply undulating like damp home made pasta drying in the breeze. If imperfect skating technique doesn't trouble you, it won't bother the judges. Most ice dancers are perfectionists - when something bad happens, usually someone's face freezes for an instant. Not us. We're bohemian. Free spirits. We skate with our soul. We notice nothing of our skates.This is not tears of disappointment in Gabby's huge eyes, nor suffering in the lines of my face at possible, mystifying, unwarranted injustice. Next season we go back to our comfort zone stuff and hope/expect the judges will just hand that gold medal over. If things are fair, of course.
Gabby and I had the Worlds of our dreams here in Helsinki - if you want to say the result was clearly wrong fine, I won't say it but you can say it. We don't know what was in the judges' mind."

I didn't get to really see Worlds until after Worlds, but I was able to see pieces of the news from Worlds. Now that I've seen it, particularly the clip above of Virtue and Moir, I like to think Scott is torn between feeling a bit abashed that he erred in the free dance, and wanting to say that they're at least 10 splats better than the French, and so are a whole bunch of other teams he could name. Get real, this pretense is wearing on him.

And I want to know how come the deal is that Virtue and Moir kiss nonstop Papadakis Cizeron ass but PC pay lip service to Virtue and Moir if they say anything at all. I mean, why would they not win? Is it possible there are other teams of quality at this competition? Non non.

It's the song of me with them. Are Virtue and Moir going to have to pay and pay and pay forever for being as good as they are? It's been going on for three Olympic cycles. Oh well, God knows they dish it out enough off the ice, and I guess it's just one big circle.

Pairs:

To me this is the judges saying to Duhamel Radford - when your tricks aren't there, your skating isn't much. But to Ilyushechkina Moscovitch - eh, the tricks... but oh the skating!! (And save the jumps, the tricks were lovely). Still, would never have dreamed any scenario would place them above Duhamel Radford. Dylan is now about where he was when he and KMT split. KMT is watching at home. Maybe if he and KMT had stayed a team, they'd be on the podium, but watching KMT's approach to her skating in her new partnership, I don't think so.

And

I wanted him to win again, but I had a feeling whathappened would happen after he won the short.He's one of those who is better from behind.

I wonder if Patrick Chan ever tires of explaining himself to us or even to himself. For awhile there, a few years ago, he was the guy he was always touted to become, and now he's back to being that 2009-2010 dude whose talking about it game is way stronger than his doing it game. I know other performers like that.

I am convinced the fd has only the degree of actual difficulty (not faux L4 difficulty) they are permitted to have under the terms of "you will be allowed to win but never act as if you expect to win - always act like PHEW - because those French are PHENOMONAL."

I thought both 2013 and 2014 freedances were incredible. I saw them both live. Cannot believe they are not hailed as amazing by everyone. Both showed musicality strength deep edges and insane blade run/coverage. I also believe that this year's had some of those same elements, but made to look more like a show program

Nope, the FD is not the V/M I knew from the last two quads. Skating is still gorgeous, of course, but this is so beneath them.

I've really enjoyed the SD, and it's more uniquely them. However, I had been thinking it was second best after their Olympic SD, but I rewatched their last four SDs recently, and after that it doesn't stack up to their previous work either. It's a fresh style for them in competition which is cool, but it doesn't have the same level of detail as other SDs throughout.

It doesn't, but the skating itself in the sd is HUGE. Bigger than they've ever done. Powerful. Covering the rink in a couple of strokes. Wonderful unison. It's almost a pairs sort of standard. Volosozhar Trankov, when at the top, didn't have the complement of tricks that some of the other pairs had, but their skating was enormous, and super fast. That is where Virtue and Moir are beating everybody else.

Good point. Although it lacks some of the intricacy of their previous SDs, the bold physicality combined with fast-paced rhythmic precision shows a different side of their technical ability than we've seen before. The FD, otoh, is just a lesser, easier version of what we've seen them do in the past. That's not at all to criticize the quality of the actual skating, but they haven't been given enough to do to be showing anything new.

Hmmm they have to praise them. It's a given or else situation. I don't deny that they do genuinely admire their French teammates but V/M know ice dance & its politics. There are half truths to what they are saying in public. All athletes do that. Speaking of FD, of course it's kind of subpar. They have to play it safe or their comeback would be a flop. The judges crucified them when they brought Carmen. It's an out-of-step with ID image/feel. P/C coaches are smart to know what sells on ice. P/C's programs are about as far as going out-of-the-box for ID judges. Carmen is not. However, they did accomplish this season by showcasing their excellent skating technique and skills. In FD, those choreographed lifts were far from boring. (Imagine being on skates and lifting and spinning while in control...now that's hard work) Nor are the transition from knee to twizzles so easy to perform, with speed and in unison with each other. In fact, ask the other couples to do what they do. Then we can gave something to talk about. Just hope that next season, no more of these "Seasons" type programs. They certainly shown how programs should be done in their SD. It packed a HUGE punch. The good kind. They're already on a right track but they does need something edgy and/or better music choice/cuts on FD.

I'm on board with everything you are saying. We both think their free dance is only what they're allowed to deliver.

I don't think Carmen versus the P/C crap has anything to do with the judges actual preferences. It's all politics and what has been worked out in advance. I, also hope that next season the free as well as the short will more authentically reflect what VM are capable of.